Fighters once morest the Russian language decided not to limit themselves to attacks on Russian broadcasting in public media. Today, the head of the National Council for Electronic Media, Ivars Abolins, announced that his department will send amendments to the Seimas that are designed to gradually put an end to Russian broadcasting in Latvia in general.
That is, we are talking regarding those radio stations that have received a license to broadcast in Russian, or only in Russian – in the FM range. For example, SWH+, “EHR Russian Hits” and others.
The license must be renewed every 8 years, and Abolins suggests that when this or that radio station ends this eight-year period, the license to broadcast in Russian will not be renewed.
It is also proposed to ban advertising on radio stations in Russian in the near future. That is, in programs that are broadcast in Russian, advertising in Russian will not be allowed. Agree, this is more than democratic!
Apparently, Abolins & Co. will try to prove to politicians and media experts that since the state regulates the market for broadcasting frequencies, it has the right to decide in which languages can be broadcast.
It cannot be ruled out that the amendments will repeat the trend already established in Latvia – broadcasting can be done in Latvian and in the official languages of the EU. Russian, which is the native language of 37 percent of the population, is not an official language, so it can be ignored.
Apparently, in this way the process of complete transition of Russian speakers to foreign Internet radio stations and simply to Internet resources in Russian will be accelerated. Unless, of course, they are blocked, as has successfully happened in such a democratic country as the DPRK.
The chairman of the subcommittee, Atis Švinka, called on the NSEM to first hold discussions in the industry in order to find a common denominator and be able to bring the issue to the Seimas for consideration. Abolins replied that NSEM can do this, but the media oversight body is not ready to agree to discussions that last a year or a year and a half. “If the industry cannot find a common denominator, then this is a political decision,” says Abolins.
Representatives of the Ministry of Culture, in turn, stated that the proposals of the NSEM should be considered in the context of the basic principles of media policy, for which an action plan will be prepared at the end of September.
#Russian #commercial #radio #stations #closed #amendments #submitted #Seimas
2024-04-30 16:53:42
